A young British skier died when he smashed into a snow cannon after drinking four bottles of beer before taking to the slopes, an inquest heard.

University graduate Thomas Lynch, a holiday rep who had also led tourists on a bar crawl the previous night, shouted 'Watch this!' as he set on a steep run moments before the tragedy.

But the 22-year-old lost control while trying to execute a turn and ploughed into the snow-making machine at high speed.

Thomas Lynch, who died in skiing tragedy in France after crashing into a snow cannon on the slopes of La Plagne in France. The night before he had led tourists on a bar crawl

The snow cannon on The Solaise ski run in the town of Val D'Isere (in background) where Mr Lynch was killed

He suffered massive internal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene in the popular French Alps resort of La Plagne, near Val d'Isere.

Toxicology reports carried out in France showed Mr Lynch, a former grammar school pupil of Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, had a blood alcohol level of 99 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. The legal driving limit is 80.

Coroner Robert Chapman recorded a verdict of accidental death at the hearing in Loughborough.

He said: 'Thomas had had something to drink which may have affected his ability to turn and control his skis at that time.'

RELATED ARTICLES

Share this article

The hearing was told how Mr Lynch had drunk beer the night before his death while taking customers on a pub crawl as a representative of holiday firm Crystal Ski, part of the TUI travel group.

Mr Chapman read from statements from colleagues of Mr Lynch's who said he had also drunk four bottles of beer the next morning during the minibus trip to La Plagne on March 20.

Colleague Alex Bodoni said it was a day off and 16 representatives and their managers - including Mr Lynch who was a university graduate and on his first season as a representative - travelled for a day's skiing.

Mr Lynch, a former grammar school pupil of Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire, had been in France for five months at the time of his death

The group took to the slopes on a red (intermediate) run, and Mr Bodoni told how Mr Lynch, an accomplished skier, shouted 'Watch this!' before setting off very fast.

But seconds later he collided with the cannon, on the edge of the run, in front of his horrified friends. They called in help and a doctor quickly arrived on the scene - but was unable to save Mr Lynch's life.

Mr Lynch's father, Brendan Lynch, told the hearing he was disappointed the French police seemed to focus on the fact his son had been drinking before the accident rather than the siting of the snow cannon and how much protective padding it had.

He said he planned to write to the authorities in France, adding: 'We want to make sure it doesn't happen twice.'

After the hearing, Mr Lynch said: 'My wife Wendy and I feel privileged to have been Tom's mum and dad.

'He was our intelligent, kind, handsome son who loved life.

'Tom's passing leaves us with a hole in our lives which cannot be filled. We love Tom very much and will always hold him close within our hearts.'

Mr Lynch studied economics at the University of York after achieving top marks in his A-levels at the £3,000 per term independent Dixie Grammar School in Market Bosworth, Leicestershire.

He had been in France for five months at the time of his death, and worked the first half of the winter season in the resort of Meribel.

Snow cannons are installed in many ski resorts. They produce artificial snow to supplement the natural snow in order to improve the reliability of a resort's snow cover and to extend the ski season.